If you've been keeping up with the recent coverage, you'll know that Disney's film studios have been struggling with some major identity issues. As the company grapples with a third consecutive Oscar loss, Disney is pulling some major restructuring. However, the parks tell a different story.
When most people think of Disney's peak era, visions of the '90s films and parks immediately flood the senses. Classics like Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and even A Goofy Movie still serve as the cornerstone on which an entire fandom is built... And Disney is more than aware.
Magic or manipulation?
Anyone who's ever been to any Disney Park knows that the mouse knows how to bewitch our minds and ensnare our senses better than any sorcerous spell, and Disneyland's new after-hours event is a prime example of why it will always have a healthy supply of fans. As demonstrated by the footage below from Laughing Place, Disney isn't just keeping its past in mothballs.
From Rafiki lifting baby Simba to the inclusion of Hercules' Victory Parade, Disneyland's '90s on Parade feature clearly demonstrates that not only does the studio know when it peaked, but it always has that same brand of magic on reserve. Why let go of the past when hundreds will shell out thousands of dollars for another taste?
That might sound a little pessimistic, but the Disney Parks are one of the biggest moneymakers for the Walt Disney Company, and they know the exact type of consumers buying the tickets: the fabled Disney Adults.
Some sources state that millennials make up Disney's primary age group, whether that's buying tickets or Disney+ subscriptions. With that in mind, it makes perfect sense that the company would want to hype up the movies that specific age group grew up with.
This also isn't the first time something like this has happened either, as the ad for Disney's 100 Years of Magic from 2001 clearly demonstrates in the footage below. Disney's greatest strategy has almost always been the "remember the magic" mindset.
Just as Disney played with the nostalgia for original Walt Disney Classics like Cinderella and Pinocchio, it does the same thing with members of the Disney Renaissance. History might not repeat itself, but it certainly rhymes.
As the company continues to restructure its internal corporate workings and decisions on what stories it tells on the big screen, Disney has an entire backlog of already successful films and franchises it can whip out to remind us all why it continues to be an entertainment juggernaut. The question is, how long will it last?
What's your favorite piece of Disney nostalgia?